Florida lawmakers advance a juvenile-sentencing bill

Update: A coalition that includes public defenders, criminal defense lawyers, the Southern Poverty Law Center, ACLU and Human Rights Watch said it would oppose the Senate bill that was amended Friday and would urge the House to reject the Senate amendment.

Here’s the statement from Natalie Kato, an advocate for Human Rights Watch:

“The Senate took a giant step backwards today with the amendment placed on the House bill.By excluding from review any young person who has prior felony convictions, this language rejects the basic premise that children are capable of amazing growth and change, and that all of us are more than our worst act.We urge the House to reject this amendment and stick with the original bill which passed unanimously on April 1.”

Previously: The Florida Legislature moved closer to reaching agreement on sentencing juveniles who commit murder and other serious crimes today as the Senate adopted an amendment that would give juveniles a chance to have their sentences reviewed and to be released.

But the proposal remains controversial as Democratic senators, including members of the black caucus, raised objections to the measure.

The opponents criticized a provision that would deny a sentence review to juvenile murderers who have committed other serious crimes, ranging from other murders to home invasions and kidnapping.

Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, called the amendment a “reasonable compromise” between his original bill and the House bill (HB 7035) sponsored by Rep. James Grant, R-Tampa.

In the compromise, Bradley agreed to more sentence reviews, including a one-time review at 25 years for juveniles sentenced for capital murder, a conviction that would draw life without parole or the death penalty for adults. In his original bill, juveniles convicted of capital murder would have no reviews.

The legislation is aimed at conforming state law to a series of U.S. Supreme Court decisions that have declared that for even serious crimes like murder or sexual assault the sentencing of juveniles must be handled differently to take into account the maturity and judgment levels of the youths.

Under the proposal, which the Senate will vote on when lawmakers return from their Passover-Easter break, the sentencing guidelines would include:

--A minimum sentence of 40 years to life for juveniles convicted of capital murder and who actively participated in the killing. Their sentences would be reviewed at 25 years.

--A minimum sentence of 20 years to life for juveniles convicted of capital murder but who were accessories to the killing. Their sentences would be reviewed at 25 years.

--Non-capital murderers would receive a sentence review at 20 or 25 years depending on their role in the killing.

--All juvenile murderers would be denied a sentence review if they had committed another serious felony, including murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, armed robbery, home invasion and sexual battery.

--Juveniles convicted of non-homicide crimes would be given a sentence review at 20 years followed by another at 30 years, if not released after the first review.

All juveniles could receive life sentences. But the sentences will be set after a judge holds a special sentencing hearing where a variety of factors will be weighed including the juvenile’s maturity, peer pressure, family background, prior criminal history and participation in the crime.

The bill would not retroactively apply to juveniles now serving life sentences for murder. The Florida Supreme Court is now considering a case that could involve the resentencing of more than 200 prisoners who received life without parole for murders committed while they were under the age of 18.

Lloyd Dunkelberger

Lloyd Dunkelberger is the Htpolitics.com Capital Bureau Chief.
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Last modified: April 14, 2014
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